Deadline has reported that Peacock’s The Continental: From the World of John Wick has debuted as the streaming service’s biggest original premiere of 2023. The series premiered on September 22 and, according to NBCUniversal, the episode was watched by more accounts than any original Peacock series, Deadline reports.
The Continental tells the story of the origins of The Continental hotel from the John Wick movie franchise. It follows a young Winston Scott, played by Colin Woodell (The Originals, The Purge), as he faces his past in a 1970’s New York City. Winston attempts to seize the hotel and is faced with its mysterious underworld.
Along with Woodell, The Continental stars Mel Gibson (Signs, Mad Max) as Cormac O’Connor, Ray McKinnon (Rectify, The Accountant) as Jenkins, Mishel Prada (Fear the Walking Dead: Passage, Vida) as KD, Ben Robson (Vikings, Animal Kingdom) as Francis Patrick, Peter Greene (The Mask, Pulp Fiction) as as young Uncle Charlie, and Hubert Point-Du Jour (Mother of George, James White) as Miles.
“I think that because it takes place in the 70s, it’s quite easy to [balance]. It was a different flavor back then, so I feel more comfortable. I would not if it was modern day,” director Albert Hughes said to Deadline. “The thing about the John Wick world is that you have all these elements that you can use in any time period — great design, grand interiors, costume, idiosyncratic characters, and of course action…”
“It’s more mysterious and enigmatic. You’ll never see a long, drawn out dialogue scene in most of the John Wick films. So in TV, it’s slightly different, especially in long form. You have to tell a story and introduce new characters. So there’s a good challenge in that. And then you have to weave in the action. So you’re servicing the fans, the old ones and the new ones hopefully,” Hughes added, according to Deadline.
The Continental: From the World of John Wick is available to stream on Peacock now.